Both "The Custom of the Country" by Wharton and "The Buried Giant" are fine with me, so let's make them our two firm decisions so far, plus Sterling and I will read "Twenty Years After" and follow up on the Barsetshire Chronicle series.

As I've mentioned before, I'm reading books by authors born in countries from which I haven't read anything. So I would like to propose "The Garden of Evening Mists", by Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng. This book won the Man Asian Literary Prize and it sounds good. So let me know.

Six books a year means we can propose two each of us. That would be my first and each of you has proposed one, so if my suggestion goes through, we have three. Let me think of the other one.

--Previous Message-- : I had more or less assumed that you had : insufficient enthusiasm for The Three : Musketeers to want to read Twenty Years : After. I guess that will have to be another : Guillermo and me project like reading the : rest of The Chronicles of Barsetshire. I'll : make sure that our progress on those is : documented here so that you may jump in, if : you wish, at any time. Specifically, I : thought that when we get there, you might : want to read The Last Chronicle of Barset, : which many think is Trollope's best. I : would consider another multiple book series : if there is one you wish to propose. I also : want to make clear that these "side : projects" are not intended to interfere : with our general program of reading, as a : group of three, a novel every two months. I : thought that we would each propose one, : which would carry us to June. However, we : can, if we want, each propose two, which : would cary us through 2017. : : Scorsese is probably my favorite American : film director. He is certainly my favorite : living director. My other favorites include : Kurosawa, Fellini, Bergman--the usual : suspects, I suppose. But as is often the : case with literary authors, the most famous : ones often really are the best--Dickens, : Austen, Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Garcia : Marquez, et al. I'm almost as much into : film as reading, but something is lost : watching them on TV (or, even worse, a : computer). When I lived in NYC, I could go : to the movies and see greatness. In : Tuscaloosa, I can go to the movies and see : Superman vs. Batman (or something similarly : inspiring). : : Anyway, I'm definitely on board with reading : The Custom of the Country. I proposed The : Buried Giant because I wanted to read an : Ishiguro after Guillermo praised The Remains : of the Day so highly. I didn't want to : presume that he wished to re-read. The : Buried Giant sounded interesting to me, and : I thought it likely that he had not read it : since it is Ishiguro's latest. If : Guillermo, who knows far more about Ishiguro : than I do, thinks that another of his novels : would be a better choice, I'm good with : that. Maybe I should revise my suggestion : to "a novel by Ishiguro to be : decided." : : : : : --Previous Message-- : : I didn't mean to suggest that you were wrong : about having read The Secret Agent here. I : didn't remember that Tomcat Murr had been : read here either. : : It hasn't been all that long since I read : The Custom of the Country - less than ten : years, but I don't remember it very well. I : hope Guillermo will be interested in that : one too. : : I also like the film of The Age of : Innocence. I find a lot of people don't for : some reason. The best scene from the book : does fall rather flat in the movie, but it's : a nice movie. : : I suppose I should go on and say that I'm : not really interested in reading 20 Years : After. I hope you two enjoy it. : :